5 Ways To Get Daily Active
Our grandparents had never heard of a workout — they got all the exercise they needed in daily tasks
Walking
We’ve all heard the advice on taking stairs instead of the lift, or parking your car further away from your destination and walking part of your journey. Together, these two small changes can almost double your energy expenditure.
Or, to help get in your 10,000 steps a day, why not make your shopping a little more eco-friendly at the same time and shop local?
Moving from shop to shop, with a trolley t full of groceries g ( AMAZON.CCO.UK/HOPPALLIGHTWEIGHTSSHOPPING-TROLLEY) works w your arms and a legs by adding small s increases in weight. w
And if that sounds like hard work, w then simply make time to enjoy a stress-free walk in nature.
Cycling
Lockdown transformed our relationships with bicycles, from wet weather gear to comfort saddles.
Cycling targets a range of areas for improving your vitality and longevity, from stimulating your cardiovascular system to promoting weight loss. Cycling has a host of benefits for your brain function, too. It acts as an anti-depressant and can improve memory, cognitive function and learning capabilities.
Public Transport
Park and ride means you can incorporate more walking into your daily routine without really noticing the additional effort.
“Taking public transport has health benefits, as walking or cyclingng to and from bus stops or train stati ions can help you reach the recommendeed amount of physical activity,” says Sustrans
( SUSTRANS.ORG.UK), a charity tha at promotes active travel.
“Someone who travels b by bus daily will walk almost 460km per r year,” adds Dr David Lewis, who conduc cted a study in public transport use for G Greener Journeys ( FIRSTGROUPPLC.COM/). .“Starrt with something you can stick to for six weeks,” he advises, “for a b better chance of it forming a healthy habitt.”
Gardening
We don’t all need to be Land Girls to get the health benefits of working the land. In fact, even tending a small garden patch or allotment can boost fitness.
If you’re lucky enough to have a garden then skip the temptation to pave over everything and save yourself a little bit of grasscutting, or at least some borders to tend.
Tending a veg patch, too, wi ith potting, digging, weeding an nd mulching, can see you incor rporate plenty of additional exercise e.
And even if you’re city-ba ased without a window box to you ur name, you can still get your greenbenefits -fingered by hunting for avail lable alltoments within your local council area ( GOV.UK/APPLY-ALLOTMENT) or r even just attend regular garden centr re classes to keep active.